


Worldhopping for Fun and Profit

by Jewel2065



Category: Baldur's Gate, Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-21
Updated: 2020-03-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 01:00:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23246665
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jewel2065/pseuds/Jewel2065
Summary: Dawn and Faith + accidental bloodshed = Adventuring in Amn
Kudos: 1





	Worldhopping for Fun and Profit

**Author's Note:**

> Sunrise in Amn  
> By Jewel  
> Created 2007  
> Posted AO3 21.03.20

Dawn watched in awed appreciation from her view point atop a mausoleum as Faith danced across the cemetery. The brunette slayer wielded an axe in each hand and every swing ended in an explosion of dust. Seeing a vampire sneaking round to get a strike in at Faith’s back, Dawn quickly lifted her crossbow, the bolt striking home into the unbeating heart. Swiftly, Dawn reloaded, bringing her weapon to bear on the next target. Her job was to keep the nasties from Faith’s back and she was determined not to fail her friend.

One vampire, brighter than the rest, came to the conclusion that the Slayer was on good form tonight, and made a break for it, its path taking it past Dawn’s perch. The creature hesitated, caught between the temptation of a relatively easy meal and the chance to get away undamaged. Temptation won and it crept closer. 

Honed instinct sent a shivery warning along Dawn’s spine and she twisted around to identify the cause. As the vampire leaped from the shadows to grab her ankle and yank her down into its arms, she fired the crossbow. The vampire’s claws sliced into her skin even as it fell into final death.

Dawn yelled in pain as bright blood began to flow from the deep cut. In the moments that followed, the girl’s blood splashed onto the headstone and across the parched earth that formed the grave of a long–dead sorcerer. 

Miklos Andreivich had had power to spare in life. In death, that power had oozed out of his corpse and into the earth that was marked as his. Raw magic fed on the blood of the Key and Dawn screamed in terror as the ground opened beneath her.

She never felt Faith’s hand close about her wrist, nor heard the Slayer’s startled cry as powerful blood magic seized her too, and the earth swallowed both of them whole.

~ 

Astrid Delani led her friends into the vast graveyard district of Athkatla in search of information. A strange messenger had stopped her last night and invited her to meet with “the Mistress” in the graveyard after dark. Astrid was not inclined to trust suspicious characters easily and so had decided on a day–time reconnaissance. 

All about were the mausoleums of the very rich and very noble. They had been here only a few weeks earlier, to attend the funeral of Nalia’s father, and a quick glance at her friend told her that the girl was already on the edge of tears. Her loss was still very recent and all too fresh in mind. Minsc had also noticed Nalia’s sudden despair and moved over to put a friendly arm about her shoulders. Boo squeaked and – a rare gesture from the rodent – scurried over to cuddle under the girl’s chin, winning a watery smile as she stroked the soft fur. 

Minsc nodded firmly. “Boo knows your heart, lass. You must not hold back your tears”. Nalia sniffled helplessly as the tears began to flow, turning into the Ranger’s embrace as she sobbed.

While Nalia wept, Astrid looked about, spotting an open grave nearby. Something about the scene looked odd – an instinct for the unusual that had kept her alive despite the difficulties of the last year or so. She moved closer, and heard a muffled cry for help. Approaching the edge of the grave, Astrid saw a middle–aged man, partly covered in soil, lying at the bottom. He was obviously alive, and terrified. Astrid didn’t hesitate, climbing carefully into the pit to extract the man from the earth.

Soon enough, the man was freed and helped over the lip of his premature grave. Astrid was about to climb out herself when the ground beneath her feet trembled then split apart, vomiting up a young girl. The adventurer stared in amazement. ‘Just when you think you’ve seen everything, something unbelievable happens!’

As the thought drifted through Astrid’s mind, the strange girl scrambled backwards, mouth open in a soundless scream, eyes wide with terror. Astrid noticed the blood that was flowing freely from a messy gash in the girl’s leg even as she crouched and stretched a calming hand towards the girl. 

“Hey there. My name’s Astrid. Who are you?”

The words took a moment to sink in, and the girl visibly calmed when it was clear that she was not being attacked. “D–dawn. W–where am I?”

Astrid really wanted to get out of this grave – it was starting to feel very uncomfortable, but she couldn’t just leave the girl here. And there was still the mystery of the partly–buried not–dead person she had just rescued. At the edges of her attention, she heard Aerie’s sweet voice and the frightened tones of the man. 

“Dawn, this is the city of Athkatla in the land of Faerun. Will you let me help you out of this grave? I think you’ll be more comfortable above ground, don’t you?”

Dawn nodded, feeling somewhat calmer now. She really didn’t like being in a grave, even if it was empty. Astrid helped the girl to her feet, seeing that the injury made standing difficult. “OK, I’m just going to call my friends to help you, because that leg doesn’t look like it’ll hold up too well”.

Without waiting for a response, she called for Minsc. The Ranger’s face appeared over the edge of the pit looking very surprised. “How many living people are being buried here today?” he asked, as Astrid lifted the girl towards his reaching arms.

Soon the party reconvened beside the now–empty grave. Aerie knelt to examine Dawn’s injured leg, and soon her healing magic was slowing the bleeding and repairing the damage.

“Wow!” Dawn exclaimed, amazed at the speed she was healing. “That is one nifty trick!” She began to shiver, a combination of shock and blood loss making her feel woozy, and felt the healer’s arms go about her for support. Voices seemed very distant suddenly, and she slumped in a dead faint.

Astrid and Minsc had learned that the man had been kidnapped by a gang operating out of the Bridge district, and that they had some sort of arrangement with the gravedigger to dispose of their victims. Minsc growled angrily even as Astrid stormed across to the gravedigger’s hut in search of someone to punish. The man soon caved and gave up all he knew of the operation, before fleeing ahead of Astrid’s threat to call the watch.

The adventurer then turned her attention to the second occupant of the grave, frowning as she saw that the girl was unconscious in Aerie’s arms. Without hesitation, Minsc lifted the girl into his arms and scowled at Astrid. “We take her to an inn, yes?” he said, “She needs a bath and a bit of rest, I think.” Boo squeaked his agreement.

Astrid shrugged. They could afford some time to check out this girl’s story – she just knew it was going to be fascinating.

~ 

Dawn awoke slowly, warm and comfortable in a bed that smelled of clean sheets. It was several moments before she remembered the events that had deposited her in a grave from which she had been rescued by a woman dressed in leather armour.

She sat up quickly, gaping at the room. A large four–poster bed, clean sheets, and a quilt that looked hand–sewn. Heavy wooden furniture. She was wearing a long cotton nightie and her clothes were folded neatly on the chair beside the bed.

A knock at the door presaged the appearance of a young woman with short brown hair woven with beads. She was wearing a long dress, rings and an ornate necklace. More importantly, she was carrying a tray from which came the scent of food. Dawn’s tummy growled ferociously, earning an embarrassed glare from its owner and a smile from the girl. 

“Good morning. I hope you are feeling better. We didn’t know what sort of food you might like, so I bought oatmeal and fruit and a mug of tea.”

Dawn smiled back and was soon tucking into her food, while listening to her companion speak of Astrid Delani and the way in which she and her friends slew the trolls that had invaded Nalia’s home. To hear Nalia tell the tale, this Astrid sounded like a Slayer – a force of nature dedicated to killing evil. Nalia spoke sadly of the death of her father, and explained that Astrid was also Lady Astrid since she had agreed to act as Nalia’s guardian.

As Dawn finished the last of her fruit, the girls were surprised to hear an ‘Ahem’ from the door. The subject of Nalia’s tale was leaning against the frame, arms folded, having obviously heard much of the story. 

“It's not as glamorous as she makes it sound,” Astrid said, smiling at her friend, “But it is true – as Minsc will no doubt tell you – that we make every effort to kick the butt of Evil.”

From the hallway beyond Astrid, the girls clearly heard a grunt of approval, accompanied by a loud squeak. “Boo says ‘Yes!’” Minsc stated firmly.

Dawn raised an eyebrow at Nalia. “Is he… alright?” she asked, reluctant to offend her new companions. 

“Minsc may not be entirely normal,” Nalia said, “But he is the kindest, most honourable man you’ll ever meet.” There was no recrimination in her tone for Dawn’s question, more an understanding of why the girl might think the Ranger damaged.

The rest of the group moved into Dawn’s room, variously propping up walls or finding seats on the bed or floor. Despite the impressive array of weapons and armour, Dawn somehow felt safer than she had for quite a while. 

“If you don’t mind,” Astrid said, her tone suggesting that there wasn’t really another option available, “We’d like to know how you came to be in that grave.”

Dawn nodded, thinking quickly. From what Nalia had said, magic and monsters were far from uncommon in this realm, so she decided to go with the truth and see where it got her.

The group listened with avid curiosity as Dawn spun a tale of slayers and witches and Keys to the universe. Of battles with the undead and accidental spillage of blood onto a piece of earth already saturated in power. 

The adventurers did not doubt the tale. They had seen many strange things in their travels; had themselves battled vampires in the streets of this very city. They had no reason to doubt that the girl’s sister was chosen by Fate to battle the undead in their homeworld, or that her friend was a powerful spell–caster. Although, she sounded more like a sorceress than a witch.

That Dawn’s blood could open portals to other realms was passing strange, but not really much different to the sort of powers possessed by the most powerful of wizards. Wild magic could manifest in many ways. One only needed to take sensible precautions to avoid – or at least limit – unpleasant consequences.

To that end, Astrid proposed that Dawn join the group and travel with them. They would train her in whatever direction her natural abilities directed, and help her learn to control her power. Remaining in Athkatla alone and without friends was not a safe proposition.

Dawn quickly agreed. She liked the idea of adventure, and being allowed to train properly was definitely better than Buffy’s off–and–on treatment of both herself and Xander.

“Excellent!” Astrid said, smiling. “Proper introductions then. I’m Astrid Delani and I’m a Fighter. Minsc is a Ranger. Aerie is a Cleric and Mage and Nalia is a Mage with a bit of skill in thievery – enough to get us through some traps, anyway. We’re questing to recover my sister, Imoen, who was taken firstly by an evil Mage and then by a faction called the Cowled Wizards. 

“The evil Mage is Irenicus. He captured me and Imoen and Minsc plus another person some time ago, and tortured Imoen and me. We still don’t know what that was about. But once we escaped, he and Imoen were taken by the Cowled Wizards to the Asylum. 

“Unfortunately, we don’t know where the Asylum is, only that it’s a prison for ‘magical deviants’ – as defined by the Cowled Wizards.”

Dawn frowned, trying to make sense of the rush of information. “So, your sister’s been kidnapped and you’re trying to get her back?” At Astrid’s nod, “OK then. Let's get going.”

Astrid smiled at the girl’s eagerness. “You sure you want to get mixed up in our mess?”

“Sure. I’ve been kidnapped. Quite a lot, actually. It's never nice, and waiting around for people to rescue you is just unpleasant. So let's make with the rescuing!”

~ 

In the days that followed, Dawn learned a great deal about the world of Faerun and the kaleidoscope of races and professions, heroes and villains, monsters and non–human peoples. Aerie was from a race called winged elves but long ago had lost her wings due to the evils of the slavers who took her from her people as a child. Astrid was a half–elf, of the fairly common human–elf variety. 

Dawn had a talent for thievery. Spike had taught her to pick complex modern locks, and the clunky things they had in this world were comparatively easy; and she'd had a tendency to light–fingers ever since that whole klepto period that had ended with the demon Sweet. As soon as her talent became obvious, Astrid took her to a building in the Docks district where the Thieves' Guild hung out and called in a favour with a guy called Renal Bloodscalp. For the next few weeks, Dawn lived at the Guildhouse and learned the many arts of relieving the unsuspecting of their property. She also learned something of the lore of Amn, specifically legendary items and artefacts, and the sort of monsters that usually guarded the same. It was an unfortunate truth that the better the treasure the more dangerous the guardian.

From her tutors she discovered that thieves often joined parties of adventurers as they quested about Faerun. The role of ‘party thief’ was an honourable one – well, mostly anyway – as it meant that the thief was relied on to act as a scout, trusted to find and disarm traps, and to open all manner of interesting locked containers which often contained valuable artefacts. 

Before Dawn could reach the point of feeling abandoned, Astrid and her friends showed up. They’d spent the intervening time working for a village several days’ travel away where folk were being horribly murdered by Shadows – a type of undead, Dawn learned. 

Dawn listened to the story with amazement – a tale of monsters and rescues, sneaking past a dragon, and, most importantly, treasure.

After a brief visit to Nalia’s home, the group had come bearing gifts to collect their young friend. Dawn squealed happily – she loved presents. In short order, Astrid presented her with a set of leather armour which would magically enchance her stealth skills and Nalia offered a magical dagger. The ‘boomerang dagger’ would return to its owners hand once thrown, making it a highly versatile tool.

Minsc offered the girl a crossbow, having remembered her tale of shooting vampires with such a weapon, and a quiver bristling with enchanted bolts. Dawn squealed again, hugging the blushing Ranger. Aerie's gift was an amulet which she named the Periapt of Wound Closure – it would prevent bleeding wounds, which would greatly reduce the chance of accidental portals.

~ 

At the Copper Coronet, a chance conversation with an unusually rude dwarf named Korgan netted the group their next quest. The dwarf claimed to have been part of a group of adventurers who were contracted to retrieve a tome from tomb beneath the Graveyard for a noble patron in the Temple District. 

Despite Korgan's rudeness and generally unpleasant demeanour, Astrid decided to accept the dwarf's offer to help him retrieve the book before his former comrades got to it. The notion of the race appealed to the half–elf, and the job seemed fairly innocuous. Korgan offered no fee for the job, but instead offered whatever could be found in the tomb; he wanted only the book.

The subterranean passages beneath the Graveyard were teeming with nasties and Dawn had plenty of opportunity to practice with her new knife and crossbow whilst carefully ensuring that the fighters took the brunt of the attacks. However deficient his personality, Korgan proved to be a very accomplished fighter.

The tomb looked very Egyptian to Dawn. She moved cautiously forward towards the immense mosaic which instinct told her must surely hide something unpleasant. Just as she spotted the first traps, the doors along the sides of the chamber popped open, releasing a selection of shadows, zombies and vampires. 

With a squeak of fear, Dawn sprinted back to the group, babbling a warning to avoid the mosaic even as she drew her dagger. It was the most potent of the items she owned, and so had more chance of harming the monsters. 

Astrid threw the pink axe named Azuredge that she'd purchased from the fence that worked the bar at the Copper Coronet and gave a delighted shout as it instantly slew a shadow before reappearing in her hand. Dawn was distracted for a long moment as she pondered the strangeness of that name, given its colour.

Standing in front of Dawn, Aerie began a humming chant, eyes closed, ignoring the danger that flowed around her. Some of the creatures exploded immediately whilst others turned and fled in the face of the elf's faith. Unfortunately those that remained took that as indication of who they should attack first. 

As Aerie's continued existence came into question, Dawn stepped forward, throwing her dagger into one of the approaching undead. She stopped it for a brief second, long enough for Azuredge to fly into its back. 

Elsewhere in the flowing battle, Korgan's voice rose in a frustrated bellow: The vampire was immune to his weapons. Turning her attention from the shadow that was heading her way, Dawn yelled "Korgan" and tossed her dagger to him, hilt first. The dwarf caught it with barely a glance then slammed the blade into the vampire's chest over and over in a frenzy of rage.

Unfortunately that left Dawn without a weapon that could affect the shadows. She 'eeped' and dodged around Aerie – just as the elf's eyes opened. Aerie lashed out with her flail, the triple heads whistling through the air, through the shadow, banishing it back to Hell.

With the undead slain, Korgan returned the knife to the young girl. He had thought the human to be more or less worthless, but she had not hesitated to give him her only useful weapon and thus left herself open to danger. He hated debts; it made him all cranky. Gruffly, he thanked the girl, trying to decide what he could offer to settle the debt he owed her.

Dawn returned her attention to the mosaic, finding and disarming a couple more traps before spotting a concealed doorway in the wall at the far end of the chamber. She waved a hand to attract Astrid’s attention and pointed at the door then moved closer to examine it for traps and the opening mechanism.

Creeping forward into the newly revealed passageway, Dawn sensed movement ahead. Cautiously, she inched forward – then retreated swiftly. Her blue eyes turned to Aerie. “Some sort of undead, a bit like zombies but bigger and kinda golden brown coloured”.

Aerie frowned then nodded. “Mummies, probably. Careful – if they hit you they can infect you with disease. I’ll go ahead and try the Wand of Fire”. At Astrid’s questioning look she admitted “They’re beyond my power to Turn”.

The elf produced a twisted golden rod from amongst her robes and moved into the entrance. A few moments later a ball of fire shot out of the wand and exploded further down the passageway, followed swiftly by two more. Aerie then nodded to Dawn, and the young thief crept forward once again. A quick look and she returned to say that the things were dead on the floor. 

Half a dozen shadows attacked next, some destroyed through the power of Aerie’s faith before the stronger ones were turned into kibble by Azuredge and other assorted weaponry. Then there were more traps and a sarcophagus that, as it turned out, released a skeletal type of thing. Another batch of zombie–type things that Aerie said were actually ghouls – and well within the limits of her power to destroy. 

They finally came to the place where the book was supposed to be only to find that the sarcophagus had been smashed and the tome removed. Korgan cursed foully – Dawn made notes for future use – and demanded that the group go immediately to the client’s home. Astrid nodded agreement, but by this point Dawn was no longer listening. Her attention had been caught by the various antique–looking vases piled about the room. Some had been broken open but others were still sealed. A few minutes of work and she’d netted a small stash of gold, a couple of magical daggers, and some arrows that carried some sort of enchantment.

Then she heard something. Looking up from the pile she’d made of the loot, she moved towards the damaged sarcophagus, noticing Astrid and Minsc approaching too. 

The sound became clear – a horrified choking cry for help. Minsc and Korgan put their backs into it and shoved the heavy stone lid onto the floor with a crash. Within, lying atop the heap of disturbed bones where the book had once been, was a woman, obviously terrified.

Dawn gasped in shock. “Faith!” Hurriedly, she clambered onto the sarcophagus, bodily hauling the other woman up and into her arms. “Faith, its OK, you’re with me now!”

For a long moment, Faith continued to panic, but slowly Dawn’s calming tones got through to her. Gradually, she uncoiled from the ball she’d wound herself into and looked about from the safety of the girl’s arms.

A sudden flush coloured her cheeks, and Dawn decided that Faith was definitely on the mend: She was embarrassed that her fear had been witnessed by a bunch of strangers.

Faith straightened up, visibly pulling attitude about herself like a cloak, shielding the vulnerable girl within. “Dawn! You’re alive!”

Dawn nodded. “Yup. You won’t believe where we are! It is so totally cool!”

Faith gazed at the strangers, all armed and armoured in a fashion that suggested a distinct lack of modern conveniences. “I guess we’re not in Kansas anymore?”

Astrid interrupted the reunion at that point. “Faith… I gather you’re a friend of Dawn’s. Can you travel? We are engaged on a quest of some urgency, and time is running out”.

Faith gazed at the strange woman, taking in the plate armour and the pink axe. Her eyes turned back to Dawn, who shrugged. “I’ll explain as we go, ‘kay?”

~ 

Faith listened as Dawn babbled at high speed, speculating as to how she and Faith were separated between worlds; how her presence in the highly magical environment of this tomb provided a beacon for the magic to focus on, hence Faith’s arrival in the sarcophagus; that she’d been training as a thief for weeks; that she was travelling with a bunch of adventurers on a quest to rescue someone’s kidnapped sister; about dwarves and halflings and elves and magic… Faith stopped listening, waiting until the girl’s babble trailed off. 

“You’ve been trained as a thief?”

“Yup.”

"You've been here for weeks and I've been stuck in Never–Never Land up 'til now?"

"Seems to be the case."

“You’ve volunteered to join a quest to rescue some girl from an evil wizard?”

“Uh–huh.”

“There’s magic and monsters and elves and shit?”

“Yes.”

“OK. I’m in. Where’d I get me some cool armour and a magic sword? And, y'know B’s gonna be pissed at you stealin’.”

“We find magical stuff all the time. I wasn’t planning on _telling_ her.”

The rest of the group listened in bemusement at the girls’ chatter. They recognised Faith’s name, identifying her as one of the Slayers of Dawn’s tales, but how she came to be in Faerun remained unclear. Certainly Dawn had not expected to find her, had believed herself stranded here alone. 

They did understand that the newcomer was planning on joining them. It was obvious that the girls were as close as sisters. From Dawn’s stories, they knew that while Faith respected Dawn’s abilities and willingly taught her to fight the monsters of their own world, Faith considered herself Dawn’s protector, while Dawn's actual sister treated the girl more as a hindrance.

The group reached the Pimlico estate only to find the front door broken in. “This is not good,” Astrid said, lifting her axe from her belt as the others readied weapons. Indeed, it soon transpired that Sir Pimlico and his staff had been murdered, the bodies dumped in a bedroom. 

Korgan began to swear but it wasn't the murders that bothered him. Astrid listened to the rant for barely a minute before turning away to examine the scene. She was furious too, but it was the unnecessary slaughter that bothered her. 

Dawn had turned her attention to a locked cabinet. It was the work of mere moments for her to pop the lock. Inside were several small pouches, each containing jewels. She grinned to herself, pleased at the discovery. She tucked the pouches into her pack before closing the cabinet. It was only as she turned to view the rest of the room that she noticed Faith’s level gaze. 

“You need those?” the Slayer asked quietly.

“Want, take have, remember?”

“Not what I asked, Dawnie.”

Dawn sighed. “No I don’t need them. They’re for Astrid – she needs like twenty thousand gold to buy the help of the Shadow Thieves. They’ll help her get to Spellhold where her sister’s a prisoner. And this guy’s dead so he won’t miss them.”

Aerie’s voice was sad as she said, “The Cowled Wizards are powerful. Rescuing Imoen will not be easy against their magic. And there is also Irenicus to contend with. Astrid and Minsc have seen him in action and from what they say, he’s powerful enough to take on the Cowled Wizards himself. So, we let ourselves be hired for quests, and profit by selling everything we can’t use. Then we buy the sort of powerful artefacts that might give us an edge. 

“But Astrid sometimes refuses the fee because she feels that the people need the money more than we do. Then there’s Nalia’s keep: There’s a decent income from the land and taxes, but she won’t raise the taxes to increase revenue, and spends a lot more than the income to hire mercenaries to guard the borders or to rebuild the dykes when they collapsed recently. She won’t let the villagers suffer when she has the money to help them, which means that collecting the money she needs is taking a long time.”

Faith listened intently, hearing the open honesty in the elf’s voice. “So in this world, thieving is acceptable and so is looting the dead?”

Dawn and Aerie nodded, and Faith looked thoughtful. “Do they pay bounties on captured bandits?”

Aerie shrugged. “Sometimes. Mostly not, because bandits and outlaws are everywhere. Basically, you get attacked, you have the right to defend yourself and loot the bodies afterwards. Sometimes, there’s a real nasty piece of work who’s wanted everywhere, but that's pretty rare.”

~ 

Korgan was being spiteful once again and had Aerie almost in tears. Dawn growled and stomped across to the dwarf. “You stop that right now!” the girl spat, fists clenched in fury, “Aerie’s done nothing to you, you–you– pig!”

The dwarf stared at the human girl who towered over him. For some reason, unpaid debt aside, she made him feel protective – an alien and entirely unwelcome sensation that he was having difficulty ignoring. He growled in frustration. “The lass needs a backbone,” he snapped.

Dawn scowled. “Well she’s not going to develop one just ‘cos you snarl at her and make her cry! Its something that comes with experience, not with being bullied!” She stormed off, swearing in several languages, finally coming to a halt by the distressed elf. “Aerie, you ignore Korgan. He’s just a meanie. Being tough isn’t all that important; there’s plenty of other people in this group to do tough. You just keep doing kind and loving.” The girl dropped beside her friend, flung an arm about slender shoulders and glared ferociously at the dwarf.

Korgan watched all this in amazement, feeling his lips twitch with the unfamiliar urge to grin. He started as something tapped the top of his helmet. He turned to see the new human, the one who had fought like an avatar of the War God when the group caught up with Korgan’s former companions. The woman glared at him. “You upset my Dawnie again and I’ll rip you a new one. You get me, Shorty?”

Korgan nodded distractedly, wondering what her strange speech actually meant. He was obviously being threatened, which didn’t bother him at all, but he had no idea what in the Nine Hells the woman was actually saying. He was far more interested in the younger girl – the one who cursed like a sailor in a language that sounded very much like a dialect of the Dwarven tongue.

Then he sighed. He’d just realised that to keep the girl happy, he’d have to stop tormenting the bloody useless elf! Well, until he found a way to repay her for the loan of her blade, anyway.

~ 

Dawn had been studying the Book of Kazaa – retrieved from the body of Korgan’s late friend. The going was slow since it appeared to have been written in a variant of the G’rthn’c language and by a demented member of the species at that. Some of it seemed to be notations on rituals and spells whilst other bits had the look of – *shudder* – prophecies. Or possibly insane rants against the gods. Or maybe poetry. She really hoped it wasn’t poetry. If it was it would surely stand against the Vogon poetry described in the ‘Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy’. The only good thing about the damn Book was that so far she hadn’t seen anything about either a Slayer or a Key.

~ 

The group trekked back out to Nalia’s home the next day. Dawn ‘Oohed’ appreciatively at the size of the castle, said something about exploring, and then vanished to examine dusty corners. 

Faith had rolled her eyes at the girl’s excitement. Astrid and the rest of her crew were heading for the main hall where the steward could usually be found. She trailed after them, hoping that someone would offer food before too much longer.

.


End file.
